Ohio law holds property owners accountable when preventable hazards cause injury—here’s what you need to know to file a successful lawsuit.
If you were injured on someone else’s property in Ohio, you might be able to recover damages through a premises liability lawsuit. These cases can involve slip-and-fall accidents, inadequate maintenance, or unsafe conditions at homes, businesses, or public spaces.
Premises liability is a type of personal injury law that holds property owners and occupiers legally responsible for injuries that occur due to unsafe or hazardous conditions on their property.
If you were injured on someone else’s property in Ohio—whether it’s a store, a home, or another public place—you could be entitled to compensation under the legal doctrine of premises liability.
Most common types of Ohio premises liability lawsuits
- Slip and fall accidents caused by wet floors, icy surfaces, spills, loose carpeting, poor lighting, broken sidewalks or curbs, broken steps, etc. These types of accidents typically happen in supermarkets, restaurants, apartment complexes, and parking lots.
- Trip and fall accidents from uneven pavement, broken stairs, potholes, cluttered walkways, or defective flooring could cause fractures, head injuries, and back or neck problems.
- Negligent security claims arise when inadequate security measures lead to assaults, robberies, or shootings. These claims typically arise from incidents in apartment complexes, hotels, shopping centers, garages, and other public places. The plaintiff (injured person) must be able to prove that the property owner knew or should have known the danger existed.
- Dog bites and animal attacks are covered under both premises liability and the Ohio strict liability dog bite law (R.C. § 955.28). Under the law, the dog owner is liable for a bite even if the dog has no history of aggression, unless the victim was trespassing or provoked the dog.
- Swimming pool accidents such as drownings, slip-and-falls or diving accidents are also common. In some instances, this invokes the attractive nuisance doctrine if a child is injured after accessing an unsupervised or improperly secured pool.
- Electrical or structural hazards could be from exposed wires, falling ceiling tiles, or collapsed decks and balconies. This is especially common in landlord-tenant disputes or rental housing negligence claims.
- Failure to maintain rental properties could be a violation of the landlord’s duties under Ohio Revised Code § 5321.04 to keep rental units safe and habitable. This includes issues like mold, pest infestations, faulty smoke detectors, or dangerous stairwells.
- Playground or amusement park injuries often include unsafe equipment, lack of supervision, or poor maintenance. This can implicate schools, municipalities, or private operators.
How does Ohio premises liability law work?
Premises liability law falls under the overarching legal concept of personal injury. If a person becomes injured, they may file a civil lawsuit against the liable party to be made whole. The intent is to restore the plaintiff to the financial position they would be in if the accident or injury hadn’t happened.
To have a successful Ohio premises liability lawsuit, the plaintiff would need to prove the following elements:
- The property owner had a duty of care to the plaintiff;
- The owner breached that duty by failing to correct the condition or warn of a hazard;
- The breach was the direct cause of the injury; and
- The injury resulted in damages, or financial cost to the plaintiff.
In some personal injury lawsuits, duty is the simplest element to establish. A duty is clear if the relationship is doctor-patient, driver-pedestrian, caregiver-child, and so on. But in a premises liability lawsuit, the duty hinges on the legal status of the visitor, not the owner.
Legal status of the visitor in an Ohio premises liability lawsuit
Invitee
An invitee is invited on the property for business purposes. This could be customers in a store, a delivery person or mail carrier, or any person who’s on the property for a non-personal (but legal) reason.
The invitee is entitled to the highest duty of care. The owner must inspect the premises and either fix a hazardous condition or warn about a known danger.
Licensee
A licensee is a social guest. This includes any person who’s on the property for a non-business reason.
The owner must warn about a known, hidden danger that the licensee is unlikely to discover on their own. For instance, if a step is broken inside the house, you’re required to warn your mother-in-law when she visits, to prevent her from tripping and suffering an injury.
Trespasser
A trespasser is a person who enters the property without permission.
The owner has a limited duty to the trespasser; they must not intentionally harm a trespasser, but they are generally not liable for an accident or injury.
Child trespasser
A child trespasser isn’t a separate category, per se, but there is an exception when it comes to children. Ohio follows the attractive nuisance doctrine. If there is a potentially dangerous condition that’s known to the owner that might attract children, the owner could be liable, even if the child was trespassing.
Some examples could be an abandoned tree house, a swimming pool, construction equipment, large holes or piles, open refrigerators, or unattended animals.
Ohio premises liability laws
There are a couple of specific laws and principles that could affect the outcome of an Ohio premises liability lawsuits.
Statute of limitations for an Ohio premises liability lawsuit
A statute of limitations is the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit. If you don’t file within the allotted time, the court will likely decline to hear the case. Ohio law (R.C. § 2305.10) requires that most premises liability lawsuits are filed within two years of the date of the injury.
Ohio comparative negligence rule
Ohio uses a modified comparative negligence system (R.C. § 2315.33). If you are partially at fault for your injury, you can still recover damages, as long as you were less than 51% responsible. However, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
This is particularly important in slip-and-fall or uneven surface cases, where defendants often argue the injured person should have been more careful.
So, for instance, if you tripped over a raised tree root at the park because it wasn’t maintained properly, you might have a premises liability lawsuit. But video surveillance shows that you were walking and looking at your phone—not watching where you were going—and you almost walked into the tree, itself. So while the park operator was liable for making sure the trees were trimmed and maintained for safe walking areas, you might be partially liable because you weren’t looking where you were going. If the court finds you 20% liable (for example), your damage award would be reduced by 20%. If you were 51% liable or more, you wouldn’t receive any damages at all.
Open and obvious danger rule
Ohio law says that a property owner is not liable for injuries caused by dangers that are “open and obvious.” If a hazard is clearly visible and could be avoided by an ordinary person, the property owner might not be responsible. This rule is often a major defense in premises liability claims.
Assumption of risk doctrine
Your damage award can be reduced or barred completely if you assume the risk of an inherently dangerous activity. Typically, this applies to recreational events like bungee jumping, skiing, and similar. There are a couple of ways this could apply to an Ohio premises liability lawsuit.
- Express assumption of risk
This occurs when a person explicitly agrees (usually in writing) to accept the risks associated with an activity. For example, by signing a waiver at a gym or trampoline park.
Therefore, if you’re injured while participating at a trampoline park, and the injury is a known risk of the activity, you likely waived your right to file a lawsuit, unless there was gross negligence or intentional harm. - Primary implied assumption of risk
This is when the risk is inherent and obvious, and the injured person is assumed to have accepted it by choosing to engage in the activity. For instance, if you’re in the stands at a baseball game and are hit by a foul ball. Usually a court will rule that the spectator assumed the risk by attending the game.
Other examples could be if you choose to walk on a sidewalk that’s been marked with warnings about ice coating, or if you ignore other warning signs posted near a hazard.
If a court finds primary applied assumption of risk, it typically acts as a complete bar to recovery and the case will be dismissed. - Secondary implied assumption of risk
This is when the plaintiff was aware of a risk created by someone’s negligence, but proceeded anyway (sometimes because of necessity). This is merged with comparative negligence under R.C. § 2315.33. Therefore, if the plaintiff is less than 51% at fault, they may still recover damages, reduced by their share of fault. If more than 50% at fault, they recover nothing. This usually applies if there is an open and obvious hazard, but the plaintiff chooses to proceed.
Related is the Ohio law for recreational user immunity (R.C. § 1533.181). This statute limits liability for landowners who open their land to the public for recreational purposes without charging a fee. They are generally not liable for injuries unless they act with willful or wanton misconduct. This includes parks, trails, and private land made available for activities like hiking, fishing, or sledding.
If you were injured in an Ohio premises liability accident, you might be entitled to compensation. Contact a personal injury lawyer in Ohio for guidance and advice on how to pursue your lawsuit.
Questions to ask when establishing fault from a slip and fall accident
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